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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24100618">Model B's and Pinup Girls</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/squadrickchestopher/pseuds/squadrickchestopher'>squadrickchestopher</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - No Powers, Artist Steve Rogers, Biceps contest, F/F, Fluff and Humor, Ford Model B cars, I Blame Tumblr, M/M, Mechanic Tony Stark, POV Tony Stark, Romance, Tony Stark Has A Heart, mechanic shop, pinup girls</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:48:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,825</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24100618</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/squadrickchestopher/pseuds/squadrickchestopher</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony runs a mechanic shop, and Steve is the resident pinup girl.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Steve Rogers/Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>154</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Model B's and Pinup Girls</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Disclaimer: I know nothing about cars. I tried.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“It’s my birthday,” Tony says. “And Christmas. And Easter. And…and…I don’t know. Groundhog Day or whatever. All rolled into one. It’s got to be.” He’s practically pressed against the shop window, nose smudging the glass as he watches some guy roll up in the most gorgeous Ford Model B he’s ever seen. It’s purple metallic, and sleek as hell, and he wants nothing more than open the hood and drool over the mechanics of it.</p>
<p>“Groundhog Day?” Maria asks, amusement in her voice. He hears her chair squeak as she gets up.</p>
<p>“Shush,” Tony says to her, not taking his eyes off the car. “It’s beautiful, Maria. Look at it. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I might cry.”</p>
<p>“I’m telling Steve,” she says, but she walks over too, entranced by the car. “But you’re right. It’s gorgeous.”</p>
<p>“I call dibs,” Tony says immediately. “I’m working on it. I claim it.”</p>
<p>Maria shoves him and rolls her eyes. “You own the shop, Tony. You don’t have to call dibs.”</p>
<p>He waves dismissively and walks out to greet the guy getting out of the car. “I’m Tony,” he says, extending a hand. “That’s a beautiful car.”</p>
<p>The man smiles and brushes his sandy blond hair out of his eyes. It’s a little long, kind of a surfer punk rock look, but Tony’s down with it, especially paired with the easy smile. “I’m Clint,” the guy says. “And thank you. I’ve heard that you’re the best mechanic in town. That so?”</p>
<p>“Definitely,” Tony says. “Just the other day I left us a five star Yelp review. We’re the greatest.”</p>
<p>Clint laughs. “Awesome.” He jerks a thumb towards the car. “It’s making funny noises. I think it’s the transmission, but I’m not sure. I don’t really do cars. I was planning on driving it upstate tomorrow, but I figured I’d better have someone take a look first. Last thing I want is to be stranded on the side of the road.”</p>
<p>“You came to the right place,” Tony says. “What kind of noises?”</p>
<p>Clint shrugs. “Kind of a whining? Feels like it’s slipping gears. There’s a burning smell too.” He hands the keys to Tony, and yep, it’s definitely a birthday-Christmas-Easter-Groundhog kind of day. “Here. You’ll know better than me.”</p>
<p>What Tony <em>wants</em> to do is snatch the keys and take the car for a long and fast drive, preferable with his husband in the front seat next to him. But he’s a professional, and so he swallows down thoughts of driving along the beach roads with Steve and says, “Let’s take a look.”</p>
<p>He watches Clint drive, eyes critical, and it takes him about thirty seconds to diagnosis the problem. “Bring it around the back,” he says, pointing to the bay. “I know what this is.”</p>
<p>Once the car is parked, Tony tosses the keys to Carol and tells her to get it jacked up. Then he takes Clint back up to the front. “Alright. Here’s the deal.” He grabs a piece of paper and sketches out a rough engine. “You ride the clutch when you drive. Which means you’re keeping it at the edge of engaging with the engine. Some of the power still gets transferred through to the transmission, but the rest is coming off as lost friction energy. That means you’re causing premature wear and tear on the flywheel and the disk. That’s where the smell is coming from, and why it’s slipping gears.” He circles the two pieces on his drawing. “Make sense?”</p>
<p>“Guess I should’ve listened to Nat,” Clint mutters, scrubbing a hand through his hair. “Alright. How much is that gonna run me?”</p>
<p>“Depends on the extent of the damage, anywhere from $1500 to $2000. That’s for parts and labor.”</p>
<p>“Fuck.” Clint sighs. “Well. Guess I’m taking the truck upstate, then.” He looks mournfully at the car through the window. “So much for picking up chicks.”</p>
<p>Tony grins. “I’ll see what I can do,” he says. “No promises.”</p>
<p>He leaves Clint to set up with Maria, and goes out back. “Look at it, Carol,” he says, pointing at the car. “It’s beautiful. It’s amazing. I’m divorcing Steve and marrying this car.”</p>
<p>Carol snorts. “Looking forward to <em>that</em> conversation,” she says as she walks past him. “What’s wrong with it?”</p>
<p>“Clutch repair.” Tony grabs his tools, puts his headphones in, and gets to work. He loses himself in the shine of the engine, and the ache in his fingers as he systematically takes it apart. He loves this. Loves breaking things down to see how they work, and fixing the broken parts. Machines are so much easier than people. Not that Tony hates people or anything. But they’re complicated, unlike engines. Tony can listen to an engine and pick apart a problem in less than a minute, including coming up with a fix for it. People require more finesse. More work.</p>
<p>He’s rocking out hard to Metallica when someone gently nudges him, and he turns around to see Steve. “Hey,” Steve says, reaching over and pulling out an earbud. “Have you eaten today?”</p>
<p>“Uh.” Tony glances at his watch. <em>It’s after four already?</em> “I was going to, but then this car came in. Look at it, Steve. Look how <em>beautiful</em> it is.” He wipes his hands on a cloth and starts waxing on about the engine and the build, absently chewing on the granola bar Steve presses into his hand. On some level he’s aware he’s babbling, but he can’t help it, and Steve doesn’t seem to mind anyway. He’s just leaning against the wall with his fantastic arms crossed over his more fantastic chest, and there’s a fond smile tugging at his mouth.</p>
<p>“Sorry,” Tony finally says, setting down the wrench he’s been gesturing with. “It’s a really nice car. I’ll shut up now.”</p>
<p>“Don’t be sorry,” Steve says, not moving from his position against the wall. He’s got his Artist Face on, like he’s seeing something he really wants to draw. “I like listening to you.”</p>
<p>“That makes one of us,” Carol says, walking past him with an armful of tools. “He’s been going on about that car all day. He said he wants to marry it.”</p>
<p>Steve laughs. “Should I be jealous?”</p>
<p>“Probably,” Tony says. “It’s a very pretty car. Although you’re also a very pretty man, so I’m a little torn here.”</p>
<p>“At least the car is useful,” Carol says, going back the other way. She grins at Steve. “What does he do around here, besides hawk his paintings and get underfoot?”</p>
<p>“Hey now,” Steve says, mock offended. “I help out.”</p>
<p>“He’s the eye candy,” Tony says. “When we don’t have Model B’s in the shop, anyway.”</p>
<p>“Ah, right. Our resident pinup girl.”</p>
<p>Steve grins. “That’s right,” he says, and he strips off his shirt before striking a ridiculous pose that makes Tony both want to laugh and drag him into the backseat of the Model B. The car might be pretty, but Steve is sex incarnate, all abs and smooth skin and rippled muscles, and <em>Jesus</em>, Tony can’t focus when there’s this to look at.</p>
<p>“There you go Carol,” Tony says, trying very hard to ignore the way Steve’s sly little glance towards him, like he knows <em>exactly</em> what he’s doing. “That’s why we keep him around. Purely for the biceps porn.”</p>
<p>Carol barks out a laugh and sets down the bucket of whatever she’s carrying. “I’ve got biceps,” she says, and strips off her own shirt.</p>
<p>She does have biceps, to be fair. Pretty fantastic ones, if he’s being honest. Carol’s not his type, but she’s definitely worth a second or third or fourth look. “True,” Tony agrees. “But Steve just…” He gestures helplessly.</p>
<p>“You say the sweetest things,” Steve says, stepping forward and pressing a kiss to Tony’s forehead in the way that makes him all melty and warm inside. Up this close he smells faintly of sweat and soap and sunshine, and Tony just kind of wants to wrap his arms around him and breathe it in forever.</p>
<p>“Okay,” Maria says, and they all turn to see her leaning in the doorway between the waiting room and the shop. “Are you running a strip club here, or did I walk into a bet?”</p>
<p>“I think it’s a biceps contest,” Tony tells her. “Do we have a winner?”</p>
<p>She shrugs. “I’m biased towards my wife,” she says, gesturing to Carol. “But Steve, you look very nice.”</p>
<p>“We need an outside party,” Steve says. “Because Tony’s gonna vote for me. We need a tiebreaker. Who’s in the—”</p>
<p>Tony snorts and pushes him away. “We are <em>not</em> involving customers,” he says. “We’ll ask Rhodey when he gets back next week.”</p>
<p>“Fair enough.”</p>
<p>Carol picks up her bucket again, arms flexing, and okay maybe it’s worth a fifth look too. “Rogers,” she says, and Steve turns to her. “Bet I can carry more of these than you can.”</p>
<p>“Yeah <em>right</em>,” Steve says, moving away from Tony and taking the bucket from her hand. “Pfft. You think this is heavy? You don’t know what heavy is.”</p>
<p>“Oh no,” Carol says. “That’s the easy one. You can have it. Put it over there.” She goes back to the other side of the shop and grabs another bucket. “<em>This</em> is the heavy one.”</p>
<p>“So that’s how it is?” Steve shakes his head. “Challenge accepted.”</p>
<p>Tony watches with some bemusement as Steve and Carol ferry the rest of the buckets over, bickering the whole time. He’s not entirely sure what’s happening, but if it means he gets to watch two shirtless, blond beefcakes lift heavy things, he’s here for it. He stares mesmerized as Steve picks up a lifting chain, unable to take his eyes off the way his back muscles shift under the strain.</p>
<p>Maria presses a wrench into his hand, startling him. “Aren’t you supposed be working?” she murmurs, a knowing smile on her face. “Most beautiful car ever? You wanted to marry it?”</p>
<p>“Screw the car,” Tony says, letting the wrench go slack in his grip, eyes fixed on Steve. “Look at them, Maria. They’re gorgeous. How did we get so lucky?”</p>
<p>“I’m not sure,” she says, leaning her head on his shoulder. Steve and Carol are arm wrestling now, which apparently involves straining arms and competitive faces and loud trash talk. Steve flicks his eyes up for a moment, never losing focus, and meets Tony’s gaze across the room. Then he smiles, a brilliant thing that illuminates the whole workshop and sends a shiver down Tony’s spine. Tony doesn’t know how he got this lucky, but he does know that he’d give just about anything to keep Steve smiling like that forever.</p>
<p>“Should we break that up?” Maria asks, gesturing towards the arm wrestling contest.</p>
<p>“Nah,” Tony says, putting his arm around her. “Let’s wait a little longer. I want to see who wins.”</p>
<p>“I’m in,” Maria agrees, and they settle down to watch.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Based on a tumblr post by antifastark</p>
<p>"no powers au where tony runs a small mechanic business and steve is his husband that does odd jobs for the shop in between selling his art. my point is one day tony makes a joke that steve's just around as eye candy. steve fully embraces this and like immediately pulls off his shirt. he looks like a pinup. carol, their resident lesbian (who am I kidding like at least 3 of the employees are lesbians), feels threatened by steve's biceps and pulls her shirt off. now there are two shirtless blonde beefcakes wandering around the 'shop, trying to outdo each other's strength, and tony and maria are enjoying their overly competitive spouses' nonsense SO much"</p>
<p> I'm on <a href="https://feedmecookiesnow.tumblr.com/">tumblr!</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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